Music of Bulgaria
Brass bands and čoček, Bulgarian women's choirs and asymmetrical dance metres, Bosnian sevdalinka, Albanian iso-polyphony, Serbian gusle epics.
Sung and searched in Bulgarian. The YouTube button above can run your search in that language.
Roots and traditions
Folk
Regional styles abound in Bulgaria. Northern Bulgaria, Dobruja, Shopluk, Thrace, Strandzha, Macedonia and Rhodopes - all have distinctive sounds. Some folk music revolves around holidays like Christmas, New Year's Day, midsummer, and the Feast of St. Lazarus, as well as the Strandzha region's unusual Nestinarstvo rites, in which villagers fall into a trance and dance on hot coals as part of the joint feast of Sts Konstantin and Elena on 21 May. Music is also a part of more personal celebrations such as weddings. Singing has always been a tradition for both men and women. Songs were often sung by women at work parties such as the sedenka (often attended by young men and women in search of partners to court), betrothal ceremonies, and just for fun. Women also had an extensive repertoire of songs that they sang while working in the fields.
Young women eligible for marriage played a particularly important role at the dancing in the village square (which not too long ago was the major form of "entertainment" in the village and was a very important social scene).
Popular music
Popular
Some of the most popular artists include:
Chalga (pop-folk) is a contemporary music style that combines often provocative Bulgarian lyrics with popular Eastern European (rarely Russian and Ukrainian) and Turkish music. It is the Bulgarian version of the corresponding variations in neighbouring countries such as Greece (Laïkó), Serbia (Turbofolk) or Romania (manele). This subgenre is rather a mixture of synthpop and gypsy music with Bulgarian wedding motives. Yuri Yunakov, a Bulgarian Romani saxophonist, is one of its creators with clarinetist Ivo Papazov. The album New Colors in Bulgarian Wedding Music highlights his amalgamation of traditional Bulgarian music with more modern elements. During the Communist era, some folk musicians lived outside the state-supported music scene. Without official support, wedding bands were also without official limitations on their music, leading to fusions with foreign styles and instruments.
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Live radio
Radio from Bulgaria
Music only, no news or talk. Stations that play the local tradition come first, then the most listened. They play in the corner of the page.
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